Recap / Pokemon S 25 E 53 The Rainbow And The Pokemon Master

♪ For I know, this will be reality
So follow all your dreams. ♪

The one where... Ash and Pikachu's status as the protagonist finally comes to an end.

Ash bids farewell to Brock and Misty for the last time as he returns home to Pallet Town. Reflecting on recent events, Gary stops by and congratulates Ash on his victory against Leon. Still, he asks one big question: "So, now that you're the Champion, just how close are you to becoming a Pokémon Master?" Ash is left pondering; has he truly accomplished his goal?

As a whole, this episode marks the final time of Ash Ketchum's journey as the lead protagonist of the Pokémon Anime, with Liko and Roy taking over as the leads for Pokémon Horizons: The Series.

Tropers, I Choose You One Last Time!

• Adapted Out: The English dub removes the "Next time, a New Beginning!" text from the end of the episode.
• Advertised Extra: The series poster hinted that Ash's Pokémon would all return for this final send off, but though most of them do, they are only used sporadically or just make brief cameos, while some only appear in flashbacks or reminiscences about their times together. In fact, Ash doesn't have anyone in his party this episode, having left all his team back at Oak's and just only getting Pidgeot back, nor do the missing ones from past series (i.e. Greninja, Primeape) come back to his team.
• Ambiguous Ending: As Ash tosses a stick upward to decide which way to go, it seemingly points to the left, but he and Pikachu are long gone as the camera pans away. It's left to the audience to decide which path they took and what adventures they'll have next.
• And the Adventure Continues: Ash and Pikachu set out once more, now with a goal to befriend every Pokemon in the world, with Team Rocket still in pursuit. In the dub, Delia also quotes the trope verbatim when she sees that Ash has left the house with his new shoes.
• And Then What?: Ash is left pondering on what Gary asked of him now that he's World Coronation Series Monarch. Is he finally a Pokémon Master? He decides he isn't yet.
• An Aesop: You may not have achieved your dream, even when you reach a crucial milestone in your journey, but that doesn't mean you can't find a way to keep trying.
• Arc Symbol: The rainbow, first seen 25 years ago when Ho-Oh appeared before Ash as the boy started his journey, appears before him again for the last time as he continues his journey, departing for parts unknown to meet every Pokémon he can and bidding farewell to the audiences that have grown up watching him. In a broader sense, the rainbow is also symbolic of Ash's dream To Be a Master, representing something that a person can't truly reach, but can always move toward.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Gary asks Ash if he truly thinks he's a Pokémon Master now that he beat Leon. This leaves Ash pondering for a few days, wondering if he is closer to his ultimate goal.
• Back for the Finale: Tracey, his Pokémon, most of Ash's remaining Pokémon, and his Pidgeot all return as part of the final send off to Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket.
• Bathtub Bonding: G-rated version. Ash and Pikachu play in the tub a bit before dinner after they get back to Pallet Town.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Ash swore he was going to beat Leon and become Champion. He did that, but now he has no idea what to do with himself after.
• Big Damn Heroes: Ash's Pidgeot swoops in and rescues Pikachu from Team Rocket.
• Big Damn Reunion: Right at Ash's final episode as the lead, he gets to meet up with Pidgeot, his second ever catch, and gets the bird to rejoin his team now that the flock it was protecting earlier is big enough to defend itself.
• Bittersweet Ending: Definitely more sweet than bitter. Ash is now the World Coronation Series Champion — the most powerful Pokémon Trainer in all the world — but he decides he's nowhere close to being a Pokémon Master yet and decides to start another journey to befriend every Pokémon he can, no matter how long it takes. Meanwhile, Team Rocket makes up, but resigns themselves to chasing Pikachu forever even if they can't get any results, simply because it brings them an endless thrill.
• Book Ends:
  • The first and last episode of Ash's tenure in the series features Pikachu for the "Who's That Pokémon?" segment.
  • The first time Ash came to Oak's lab, he overslept and had to run to the lab in his pajamas to get there, arriving too late to get his first choice of Pokémon. This time, he does oversleep on what begins as his last trip to Oak's, but his mom wakes him up, Pikachu is there with him this time, he gets dressed in proper clothes, and the purpose of his visit is to see the new starters that arrived instead of picking out one for himself.
  • Ash never got his pick of starter due to waking up late and getting a disobedient Pikachu instead. He ends his tenure rescuing a lost starter with the help of his old Pokémon.
  • Ash's first meeting with Gary in the series was not pleasant, as Oak's grandson condescendingly mocked him for showing up late and not having good connections, suggesting he shouldn't even bother being a trainer. Now, in their final meeting in the series, Gary sincerely congratulates Ash for winning the World Coronation Series, asking if he's closer to being a Pokémon Master as a result, inspiring Ash to start a new journey.
  • In "Pallet Party Panic!", Ash released his newly evolved Pidgeot to protect a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto from a group of Spearow and Fearow, promising one day to get it back. 25 years later, he finally fulfills that promise and adds Pidgeot back to his party, now that the flock is big enough to defend itself.
  • Ash and Pikachu started their journey from Pallet Town, and leave it for the last time together.
  • In "Pokémon, I Choose You!", Ash and Pikachu's first saw a rainbow brought about by Ho-Oh. Now, they see one for the last time as they depart to see the world.
  • At the beginning of To Be a Pokémon Master, Ash used a stick to decide which way to go in a fork in the road. He does so again to end his tenure as the series lead.
  • In "Pokémon Emergency!", Team Rocket swore to steal Pikachu for the boss. They continue to do so at the end, no matter how long it takes.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Team Rocket shush the camera while trying to sneak up on Pikachu.
• Burger Fool: Of the cafeteria variety. Because of their earlier fight, Team Rocket is consigned to work at the headquarters in the cafeteria, where they're slogged down with heavy grunt traffic and a lot of hours with short breaks. It doesn't help they're still angry at each other for said fight.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • Ash's Pidgeot returns after 25 years, and joins his team once more.
  • Tracey makes his first speaking appearance alongside his old Pokémon team, with his Venonat now a Venomoth.
  • Most of the remainder of Ash's Pokémon he didn't bring back to his party during these last few episodes do make their final appearances here.
• But Now I Must Go:
  • Brock and Misty return to their own lives before Ash returns to Pallet Town. This marks their final appearances in the anime.
  • Ash leaves with his new shoes to start off on his journey again. While he doesn't say goodbye to his mom, she at least had an idea that he was going to do so anyway.
• Call-Back:
  • Ash, Misty, and Brock's final farewell is not unlike their first in "Gotta Catch Ya Later!" back in Johto.
  • Ash oversleeping is not unlike the pilot, though his mom wakes him up this time.
  • Like in "Hoenn Alone!", Ash is ambushed by the Team Rocket Trio with just Pikachu on his team, left with no other Pokémon and no companions to help him.
  • Team Rocket are surprised to see Ash's Pidgeot has evolved, since its evolution occurred after they had already blasted off for the episode.
• The Cavalry: When Ash is backed into a corner, stuck between a full-partied Team Rocket and his kidnapped Pikachu with no Pokémon of his own, his old Pidgeot swoops in and saves the day.
• Central Theme: The series as a whole had spent so long asking what it means to be a Pokémon Master, with only vague implications as to what that actually meant. This particular miniseries seemed to drive that forward with Ash's final journey, which leads him to conclude that being such a Master means being friends with every Pokémon in the world.
• Changing of the Guard: The flock Pidgeot was protecting is big enough now that they can defend themselves, so they give their blessing to their leader to go back to Ash.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Ash talks to his Mom about how he reencountered his old Squirtle back in "A Squad's Worth of Passion!".
  • Ash is thinking back to the events of the last episode where he saved Latios from the Pokémon Hunter, only for it to not even thank him for it. This influences his decision to continue his journey, convinced he can only become a Pokémon Master if he can befriend every Pokémon in the world.
  • Team Rocket is still pissed at each other from the fight they had two episodes prior.
• Contrived Coincidence:
  • Ash goes into Viridian Forest with Pikachu at the exact same time Team Rocket does, leading to their last conflict of the series when they make a grand reunion attempt at swiping the electric mouse.
  • This also applies to the TRio themselves. Apparently all of them got the same idea to try swiping Pikachu, leading to them making up over their fight.
• Costume Evolution: Ash's Mom gets him some new shows with the Pokémon League logo on them.
• Darkest Hour: In Viridian Forest, Ash is backed into a corner when the reunited Team Rocket steals his Pikachu, and he has no Pokémon of his own to call out. Luckily, an old feathered friend swoops in and saves the day as Pidgeot returns to save its old trainer.
• Decon-Recon Switch:
  • Of Ash's goal To Be a Master. He's always wanted to be a Pokémon Master since the beginning, and has gone through eight regions with eight different teams of Pokémon, never really making much progress of getting stronger until he won the Alola League. Then he becomes the World Coronation Series Monarch, defeating the strongest trainer on the planet and now being the World's Best Warrior himself. Does that mean he's finally accomplished his goal? Not really. To him, Victory Is Boring, and he has no idea what to do with himself now that he's become Champion. But after spending a few days thinking it over, he comes to believe that being a Pokémon Master is to go out and befriend every Pokémon he can, now with a clearer understanding of what he wants beyond simply getting stronger.
  • After taking a sledge hammer to Team Rocket's destined failure to steal Ash's Pikachu by having the group bust up due to realizing what a colossal waste of time and resources it all was, this episode brings the trio back in the role, as they realize that even if they can never steal Pikachu, it's still way more fun to try and fail instead of doing simple grunt work at the organization.
• Detrimental Determination: An idea that's been reinforced throughout the series is that Team Rocket would be much happier with their lives if they stopped being petty criminals chasing after one measly Pikachu. They've been genuinely better off doing legitimate jobs, had full bellies, and didn't have to straggle about getting blasted off every day with powerful Pokémon attacks just to steal one kid's best friend. However, they can't break the cycle and decide it's better to resign themselves to endless failure just so they can keep getting the thrill of trying to steal Pikachu.
• Driving Question: What does it mean to be a Pokémon Master? For Ash, it's befriending every Pokémon in the world, be they wild or his own personal captures.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: In another case for Ash, fresh off his League win against Leon, he's given a clearer understanding of what it means to be a Pokémon Master, and his Pidgeot returns after so long to rejoin his team, giving him one of his oldest friends back by his side.
• Easily Forgiven: Eventually Played Straight. Despite their fight, and their initial unwillingness to forgive each other when they're consigned to menial cafeteria work, the Team Rocket Trio immediately make up when they bump into each other trying to steal Pikachu.
• End of an Era: Ash, Brock, Misty, Pikachu, Team Rocket, the narrator, and most of Ash's remaining Pokémon bid farewell to the world, ending 25 years of storytelling for the boy and his best friend who sought to be the best, like no one ever was. Now, a new journey for a whole new generation is on the horizon.
• The Fellowship Has Ended: The original traveling gang parts ways for the last time as Misty and Brock return to their respective hometowns, while Ash chooses to travel the world with just Pikachu by his side.
• Foil: At the end of Ash and Team Rocket's tenure, both of them have wound up on entirely different paths to where they first started. Ash was an immature and egotistical rookie overcompensating for his lack of knowledge and confidence in his own skills who grew to become a kinder, more powerful Pokémon Trainer and rose to become the most powerful of them all. Team Rocket is a group of cocky Smug Snakes who couldn't steal a Pikachu if their lives depended on it, who couldn't understand the idea that their lives would be far better if they just quit the villain gig and moved on to greener pastures. Now, Ash has truly grown into his own man, with a better understanding of his goal, while Team Rocket is endlessly trapped in their own game, unable to grow as people because of it.
• From Bad to Worse: Ash gets this when Team Rocket decides to get back together and steal Pikachu, which only grows worse when Ash realizes he left his team back at Oak's, and he has no one to help him.
• Glory Seeker: Why Team Rocket decides to get back together. Even if they don't succeed in capturing Pikachu, the mere thrill of hunting him down forever is enough to keep them in the game.
• Graceful Loser: Team Rocket is surprisingly happy about being beaten at their moment of triumph, if nothing else because it keeps their game going forever.
• Grand Finale: Averted. Despite being the final episode of Ash's story, the episode (and the miniseries as a whole) ultimately does little to wrap up loose ends or give him closure in his goal To Be a Master, with the only one addressed being Pidgeot's return to his party. Similarly, Team Rocket never reform and simply get back together to continue following Ash and Pikachu, forever committing themselves to their own endless chase.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Two episodes after they came very close to stealing Pikachu, the Team Rocket Trio are reduced to mere cafeteria workers who hate each other's guts, forced to spend all day on grueling shifts while they can barely stand each other.
• Ignored Epiphany: So Team Rocket, after spending 25 years out of universe, has a nasty fight that tatters their friendship because all of them think the others are responsible for their constant screwups, get reassigned to menial cafeteria work, and are left bitter about all that time wasted chasing after one Pikachu. Does it finally sink in that maybe they've wasted their lives on a pointless dream and that they'd be better off living normal lives? Nope! They can't stand the idea of not chasing after Pikachu and reform just so they can keep up the gig.
• It's the Journey That Counts:
  • After pondering about Gary's Armor-Piercing Question, Ash realizes that he prefers to be a challenger still chasing an unreachable dream rather being on top of the world with no challenges left to do. This leads him to take on the ultimate challenge, which is to befriend every Pokémon in the world. It may be impossible, but it will keep him going and improving as a trainer.
  • Team Rocket are actually happy that they failed to capture Pikachu. Their epiphany is that the reason why they keep going after Pikachu despite countless failures is the thrill of trying to steal the most powerful Pokémon from the most powerful trainer.
• Last Episode Theme Reprise:
  • Team Rocket's original motto theme plays as they recite their final motto of the series.
  • The last scene of the episode plays Shinji Miyazaki's orchestration of the Pokémon Red and Blue title theme, the same track that played in the very first scene of "Pokémon - I Choose You!".
  • "Type: Wild" returns one last time as the Japanese ending theme, the most iconic ending associated with Ash's character. In the dub, this is replaced with a piano cover of "Gotta Catch 'Em All".
• Long Bus Trip: With Ash's tenure as the series lead over, his Primeape (still in training), his Goodra (living in the wetlands), his Naganadel (back in the other dimension), May (left out of the series because her Japanese VA had vocal chord troubles), and Max (left out of the series since his Japanese VA retired) are the only Pokémon and companions he never reunited with.
• Mythology Gag:
  • James is seen drinking a cup of Komala Coffee from Pokémon Sun and Moon.
  • Ash comes across a group of Poliwag, which happen to be the favorites of his Japanese namesake, Satoshi Tajiri.
• Near-Villain Victory: Team Rocket almost gets this again when they have Pikachu in their grasp and a Pokémon-less Ash at their mercy. Pidgeot derails their plans.
• Oh, Crap!: When Team Rocket ambushes Ash, he realizes he left all his Pokémon back at Oak's and has no one to defend himself. He's proven wrong soon when one of his Pokémon does return to him after so long: Pidgeot!
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Surprisingly, the dopey and usually clueless Wobbuffet is concerned about the fact his teammates hate each other for their fight earlier.
• Resigned to the Call: No amount of in fighting nor the constant failure of them trying is going to stop Team Rocket, who decide they'll never give up their pursuit of Pikachu, even if they can't actually steal him.
• Rule of Symbolism: Ash's new shoes. His mom gets them for him, but he refuses to put them on at first, still wearing his old, dirty ones symbolic of his old journeys, left as a reminder of a goal to become the strongest trainer in the world he has now accomplished, but leaving him unsure about what to do next. When he finally sets off on his new journey, he's wearing those new shoes, certain about where to go next, with a renewed sense of optimism and purpose.
• Small Role, Big Impact:
  • Gary's role in the episode is relatively brief, but his question to Ash sparks his new adventure.
  • The Latios from the last episode only knew Ash for a few hours, but his refusal to truly befriend Ash greatly influences the latter's final decision about his dream, deciding he can't consider himself a Pokémon Master until he can connect with every Pokémon in the world.
• Smug Snake: At their apparent moment of triumph, Team Rocket gloats to Ash — with nary a Pokémon on his person to help him — and pay for it dearly when Pidgeot arrives to save him.
• Status Quo Is God: Downplayed. Ash is the World Coronation Series Monarch, he has a greater understanding of his goal To Be a Master in mind, and his Pidgeot rejoins his team after having been absent for years. However, little else has changed; Team Rocket's Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure is undone as they decide they want the excitement of forever pursuing Pikachu even if they can't succeed, Ash sets off on another journey the same way he always does, his other released Pokémon are still out in training or in the wild on their own paths, most of his companions except Lillie have not accomplished their own personal goals (although they are getting closer), and Ash still isn't a Pokémon Master yet. Ultimately, little acknowledgment goes toward the fact he's now the strongest trainer in the world, or any potential struggles he may have in maintaining that title.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Team Rocket being assigned to menial cafeteria jobs at headquarters. After having pursued Pikachu endlessly for so long with little success in the field (as their biggest "accomplishments" in claiming to have eliminated their regional rivals is entirely a lie) and now suddenly come back empty handed and having fallen out with each other, Giovanni isn't content to make them "Team Rocket Legends" like they wanted. Really, he was quite merciful in letting them have these jobs to begin with, seeing as this big of a failure should have gotten them fired.
• Superman Stays Out of Gotham: Justified. Ash can't call any Pokémon to help him because he left them all back at Oak's, which leaves him at Team Rocket's mercy.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: When the Team Rocket Trio is forced to work in the cafeteria, they hate each other for their fight earlier, and do this throughout their entire shift, refusing to speak to each other on their short breaks.
• Thanking the Viewer: After the episode, a message was released thanking all the Trainers that saw Ash and Pikachu's journey to the televised end.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Team Rocket is reassigned to work in the cafeteria, but they refuse to speak to each other after their Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure two episodes ago. They subvert this later when they realize they love chasing Pikachu too much and make up.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • Tracey's Venonat is now a Venomoth.
  • The flock that Ash's Pidgeot was protecting has gotten much bigger to the point they can now protect themselves without it, allowing the Flying Type to rejoin its trainer.
• Traveling at the Speed of Plot: At the beginning of Ash and Pikachu's journey, it took the better part of a day for them to travel from Pallet Town to Viridian City (even while being spurred along by the flock of angry Spearow chasing them), with the duo arriving at the city during sunset. Here, both Ash and Delia have no problem assuming that they can go to Viridian Forest and be back in time for dinner.
• Undying Loyalty: Even after being apart from Ash for so long, Pidgeot still swoops in to save him, and is more than happy to rejoin his team when Ash offers.
• Victory Is Boring: Ash feels this way despite beating Leon with a great deal of difficulty. Even being the World Coronation Series Monarch isn't enough to make him feel like he's a Pokémon Master yet, and decides to travel the world just so he can do that.
• Wandering the Earth: How Ash decides to start his next journey, as he aims to meet everyone Pokémon he can.
• Wham Shot: Ash is defenseless against the reunited Team Rocket, who have his Pikachu while he has none of his Pokémon. But then a wild Pidgeot shows up to save him, revealing it to be the very same that Ash left behind all those years ago!

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Ash's time may be over, but the journey continues...